Media Release

Educators welcome input on digital fluency package for schools

28 June 2017

NZEI Te Riu Roa has welcomed Education Minister Nikki Kaye’s offer to work alongside the profession on how to implement the government’s digital fluency package in schools.

NZEI President Lynda Stuart said the $40 million package (including $24 million of new money) announced today would help schools and teachers to equip students with the digital technology skills and confidence they needed in a changing world.

“Minister Kaye has also acknowledged our concerns about ensuring that teachers have the time to absorb and put into practice the professional learning and development they will be receiving.

“This is a big shift in curriculum focus and the Minister is keen to get it right and work through it with the sector, which we’re really pleased about,” she said.

Ms Stuart said it was also positive to see that digital fluency would receive a greater emphasis in initial teacher training, to ensure new teachers were ready to deliver the new curriculum content.

“However, we still need to go through the details of how it will work. For example, will ITE take longer in order to include this additional training, or will emphasis on other areas of the curriculum be reduced? It would certainly be troubling to see initial teacher training further reduce focus on subjects like the arts.”